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Logical Reasoning · Inference

PrepTest 142 · Section 2 · Question 10

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type
Inference
The one idea it tests
Chain of causes: if each link is stated, you may connect the first link to a later one, but you may not add sizes, past states, or what-ifs.
The basic logic
Lay out the chain: A leads to B, B leads to C, C leads to D. A safe inference connects stated links. Beware answers that guess what things were like before, what would happen if a link were removed, or a general law about all cases.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “due to”
  • “stimulates”
  • “few”
  • “in general”

Playground logic

Aunt Rosa's open door lets in leaves, leaves make Biscuit sneeze, and the sneezes chase Mr. Whiskers out. That is a lunchbox with a chain inside. The safe bite is the one made from links already packed: the open door plays a part in the sneezing.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Sneeze Chain

Since Aunt Rosa started propping the back door open, the pile of leaves on the kitchen floor has doubled. Leaves tickle Biscuit's nose, so Biscuit sneezes a lot more. Every sneeze wakes Mr. Whiskers with a jump. Because of all the jumping, Mr. Whiskers hardly ever naps in the kitchen now. Marcus put on his detective hat. "Clearly Mr. Whiskers napped in the kitchen every single minute before! And if we shut the door, Biscuit will never sneeze again!" Lulu checked her clipboard. "Nope. Nobody said how much he napped before. And leaves may not be the only thing that tickles Biscuit." Priya nodded. "What we CAN say is small: the open door helps cause the sneezing. Every link is right there in the story." Marcus took off his hat. "Small is boring." "Small is safe," said Lulu.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Since the back door was propped open, leaves on the kitchen floor have doubled. The leaves make Biscuit sneeze, and each sneeze startles Mr. Whiskers awake. As a result, Mr. Whiskers seldom naps in the kitchen anymore.

Assuming every fact in the story is accurate, what else has to be true?

Choices

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The People v. the Leaky Sprinkler

The prosecutor pointed at a chart. "Since the sprinkler broke, puddles on the path doubled. Puddles make bikes skid. Skidding scares off the morning joggers. So the sprinkler makes joggers scared." Mr. Whitfield rose. "Your Honor, I accept every link. But my opponent added something in his notes: that before the leak, the path was packed with joggers. Nobody testified to that." Judge Okafor nodded. "The chain lets you connect the links you proved. It does not tell me about the past, or what happens if one link vanishes." She ruled the leak did help cause the skidding, and nothing more.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 142, Section 2, Question 10 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Map the stimulus as a chain of cause arrows. Then test each choice: is it built only from links that appear, joined in order? Cross off any choice that describes conditions before the change, predicts what happens if one link disappears, adds a size the facts never gave, or turns the story into a law for all cases. The right answer is often modest and just joins two adjacent links.